The ChangingMinds Blog!

The polarisation of society and a way back to
moderation

Have you noticed that
politics has got rather fractious of late? Politicians are taking extreme
views and refusing to work with one another. Little real work gets done amid the
fruitless cat fight, which contributes further to electorate contempt. And not
content with that, in-party schisms are commonplace, often as ever-more radical
wings rip away at the traditional body as toleration gives way to right or left
wing ideals. The electorate, too, split and raucous, see opposition politicians
and their supporters as bad and even evil, rather than wrong and misguided.

This intolerance is also seen in society and religion and may even be seen in
terrorism and consequent reactions. The internet, too, is bound up in this
malaise. Anonymity and remoteness enabled extreme views to be expressed without
fear of recrimination. Indeed, the simple buzz of power that trolls get from
being nasty reflects our basest nature. Social media has also encouraged more
extreme views in the shock-horror of gossip. In the search for affirmation, we
band together into online tribes where we stroke one another's egos and attack
out-group others lest we, too, are castigated for not being true enough to
friends and tribal values.

Polarization is a
classic us-vs-them tactic, where taking an extreme position casts those who are
not like us at the other extreme, making them clearly 'not us'. This extreme
psychological distance enables us demonize and dehumanize them, reducing them to
faceless 'things', such that we can harshly criticize them, unfettered by common
decency and social values that constrain our interaction with humans.

In other words, polarization is an easy short cut for the lazy and
thoughtless who need approval more than reason. It is also the refuge of the
insecure, who find the complexity of the real world too much to handle.

Polarization can also be seen in the distribution of wealth, at least in the
'western world', where there has been a gradual return to elitism with the '1%'
super-rich, more people struggling to get by, and a general collapse of the
middle classes. Where once a booming middle class with enough wealth for some
luxuries was an aspirational possibility for many, now it has been eroded to the
point where markers of affluence, for example home ownership, are becoming more
and more of a distant possibility.

When you take away hope,
you get hopelessness, and while some resign themselves to this fate, enough
others are rebelling and may yet become a powerful political force, where the
have-nots face off against the minority haves. For a long time the political
right have fooled many with emotional appeals and empty promises that play to
their fears, yet there also is a rising anger that is finding a voice of its
own.

Moderation comes from appreciating and accepting others, but it also draws
criticism from the righteous extremists. To be moderate means you cannot be
mild. Handling complexity and intolerance takes fortitude of spirit. In the
middle ground you cannot dehumanize as you seek true understanding. It means
negotiating, giving and taking, and sometimes accepting situations that seem a
bit unfair.

The pressures of an ever-faster life leads steadily from moderation to the
easier extremes where we only have to look in one direction. Yet that polarized
position brings new dangers. In a moderate society you can
trust most people, even those
who are not like you, to be civil and kind. But when things polarize, you see
enemies at the gate and even inside the citadel. Where the defining emotion of
moderation is love, fear rules the polarized.

So how do we get back? How do we create a kinder, more considerate society.
The hardest first step is to stop fearing others, which leads to hating less.
Yes, when you extend your hand to those who you have reviled, they may well try
to bite it. But then moderation is not for the faint-hearted. It takes courage
and conviction to face critics from all quarters without slipping back into more
extreme places.

And yet. Many of us know and prefer moderation. We consider kindness and
civil society a great thing. Yet our fears hold us back. The good news is that
society is more of a pendulum than a weight that drags us inevitably down.
Moderate leaders will emerge and the silent majority will gratefully swing
behind them.